Architecture and the Brain

John Eberhard, who is the founding president of the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture, recently wrote a book on neuroscience and architecture intended for architects. The book is titled, Architecture and the Brain: A New Knowledge Base from Neuroscience. I am really curious to hear what people think about the book.

Neuro-architecture: One Person's View

Forward is the quarterly journal of the American Institute of Architects National Associates Committee. In the October 2006 issue on technology in architecture, there was an article on the neuroscience and architecture initiative titled, "A Legacy of Service." With such an unassuming title, one would not immediately make the connection between neuro-architecture and service (to the architecture profession and society), but the content tells a different story. It is one person's perspective on neuro-architecture.

SfN "Science and Society"

In the SfN's 2007 Annual Report, they featured an article titled, "Form Follows Function The Fusion of Neuroscience and Architecture". It is nice to see the neuroscience community acknowledging this initiative!
http://cognitionbaseddesign.googlepages.com/home

Spatial Cognition in Virtual Worlds

The article from Thought Capital talked about the importance of spatial cognition research in virtual worlds. But virtual worlds can also inform our understanding of spatial cognition. More on that in another post.

But this brings up the idea of virtual environments and neuroscience. Recently an article appeared in USA Today about the application of brain electrodes in virtual reality. The applications are very interesting beyond improving navigation in virtual worlds.

USA Today - Japanese researchers make 'Second Life' more like real life

Keio University graduate student Yasunari Hashimoto wears electrodes on his scalp to control the movements of his online character, or avatar, in the "Second Life" virtual reality world at the Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology of Keio University in Tokyo November 22, 2007. People with severe paralysis could find new opportunities from shopping to doing business or making new friends in the virtual world of Second Life by just thinking about it, if experiments being conducted by a Japanese university bear fruit.

Questioning Neuro-architecture

Sorry for the hiatus. But the holidays were busy.

So once again we find another blog posting about the ceiling height study proclaiming the rise of neuro-architecture. Thinking about it, it makes sense that everyone has been citing this article. This is mostly because there are no other obvious neuro-architecture research.

This blog post is interesting because it uses the ceiling height study as a segue to the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. It goes on to suggest relevant research related to the architecture of schools and its effect on learning, and the architecture of courthouses and its effect on verdicts.

Thought Capital - Architecture, meet Neuroscience

Adaptive Environments

There is an interesting organization that is dedicated to universal design called Adaptive Environments. Their website is a great resource for articles, documents, and links on human centered design.

Last week in conjunction with Build Boston, Adaptive Environments sponsored a Universal Design Symposium. John Zeisel, PhD and John Eberhard both gave presentations on neuroscience and architecture. Here is the description of their talks from the program:

B05 Neuroscience and Design
Designing for the Healthy Brain – The neurosciences now tell us that our environments do, in fact, affect our brains; how they develop and function over time – knowledge that architects can mine. Zeisel will explore some of these opportunities and discuss the role neuroscience can play in design process and practice.
John Zeisel, Ph.D., Board of Directors, AIA Academy on Neuroscience and Architecture

Consciousness and Experiences with Architecture – Every waking moment we form, remember, recall and respond to conscious experiences, ninety percent of which take place in buildings. Neuroscience research is on the verge of a new knowledge base about such experiences that will provide the architectural profession with evidence to examine, and in many cases, support their intuitive process.
John Eberhard, FAIA, AIA Director of Research

Moderator: Barbara E. Knecht, RA, Director of Design, Adaptive Environments

How We Choose to Live

There is a lecture series at the La Jolla Athenaeum Music & Arts Library in California titled "Dialogues in Art & Architecture 2007-08: How We Choose To Live." There are several interesting lectures slated for next spring. So if you happen to be in the San Diego area, you should check it out. You can find more information here:

http://www.ljathenaeum.org/lectures.html

And here is a description of the lecture series:

The theme for this year’s series is: How We Choose to Live. In our daily lives, with awareness or not, we experience the consequences of a changing natural environment and of public policies and economic and bureaucratic decisions about art, architecture and land use in the public realm. Our daily lives are also shaped by discoveries in science and technological innovations across disciplines. Our panelists will address our potential to be effective participants in shaping our social and cultural realm. The series is coordinated by the Athenaeum with artist and environmental sculptor Joyce Cutler-Shaw. The programs will be co-sponsored by the San Diego New School of Architecture (affiliated to the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture, promoting links between Neuroscience research and human responses to the built environment), as well as the San Diego Council of Design Professionals, and the San Diego Architectural Foundation.